Raising Awareness for Steroid Abuse

Dr. Lahiri (based in India) has been making strides in this area. He is very open with the fact that steroids can be a saving grace/necessary to the medical community as much as they can be one of the most harmful drugs if abused.

Here is his YouTube video discussing all things topical steroids and how they can play a devastating role in the medical community.

The lecture is about 45 minutes long (and worth the watch). It continues on with a Q and A discussion for another 30 minutes.

However, I know in today’s age not everyone has the time to sit down and watch videos. Because I don’t want you to miss out on the main topics, I screen shot some main points that are particularly crucial.

1. Topical steroids have been around since 1951, and we have been seeing adverse side affects being documented since the 70’s. It’s gone on for too long.

2. Different parts of your body absorb the steroid faster than others. It goes from most absorbent (mucous membrane — like your private parts), to nails. This HAS TO BE addressed by your doctor. Each part of the body may need something different. Super potent steroids should NEVER be used on the face, for example.

Here is the sight absorption percentages. As you can see, your face absorption is way faster than your arm, and everything becomes 100 MORE TIMES absorbed if under a dressing (like wraps). If a doctor is telling you to wrap yourself with steroids, know that can become extremely dangerous. Also, if a doctor is prescribing you one type of steroid for your entire body, know that different sites are going to have different absorption rates.

4. Along with potency and absorption rates, the type of steroid form is also important to put into consideration. If you are given an ointment, it is more potent than a cream. You should be even more careful when it comes to this type of style since your body can become dependent faster.

5. GUIDELINES!!!! This is what your doctor MUST be taking into consideration when they are treating you. All of these questions are vital to knowing whether or not you should be treated with steroids, what type of steroid, what type of method, and how long is safe for the area of use. If your doctor does not address these, then you need to bring them up yourself to stay out of harms way.

6. This is EXTREMELY dangerous, something I wish I would have known. You should NEVER combine these things together. You are asking for trouble. Some doctors are prescribing steroids with antibiotics, anti fungals, or all three at the same time. This can create massive resistance in the body, and even an allergy to the medications. Take is from me, I was on all three PLUS Protopic, which is an immunosuppressive drug.

7. This is not your friend! Please understand this. I know we all can be mildly vain – to – I have to be beautiful 24/7, but do not allow a doctor to throw a super potent steroid at you so you can ‘heal even faster’. It’s not ok and it’s actually going to harm you in the long run.

8. Lastly, this is his take home message. He was very well spoken and hopes that everyone, patients and doctors, can learn from this and gain knowledge on how steroids should and should not be used.